Apple's apology in China part of a 'rite of passage' for foreign companies

International companies trying to break in to the Chinese market are routinely criticized by state-controlled media, forcing apologies like the one Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook gave this week.

The so-called "rite of passage" for foreign companies in China was profiled on Tuesday by Bloomberg, which noted that corporations such as Volkswagen AG, Carrefour SA, and Yum! Brands Inc. have also been targeted by the government-controlled China Central Television. Apple specifically was under fire for failing to replace the back covers of iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S units after repairing the electronics inside, which prompted weeks of criticism from the state-run media.

Following the CCTV report, another state-run media organization, the People's Daily newspaper, ran more than a dozen articles that also targeted Apple.

Those attacks pushed Cook to issue a formal apology on Apple's website on Monday. The CEO said that a number of "misunderstandings" over the company's warranty policies had occurred, while revealing changes that aim to better serve iPhone customers.

Apple will now provide customers will full iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S replacements. Receiving a replacement phone will also reset the hardware's warranty to one year.

The strategy has apparently worked: The same newspapers that attacked Apple are now heaping praise on the American company, citing proactive measures taken by Cook. Even China's Foreign Ministry gave approval, calling Apple's revised policies evidence that the company had "conscientiously" responded to consumers.

For its part, CCTV has claimed it wasn't told by the government to set its sights on Apple, and the People's Daily said it stories were published because "Apple has stirred public anger."

China has become an increasingly important market for Apple in recent years, and was responsible for about 15 percent of the company's total sales in fiscal 2012. Cook has pushed for Apple to have a greater presence in China, expanding iPhone distribution and opening flagship retail stores, and the strategy has paid off.

China's role in Apple's business is so important that one estimate published this week suggested the anti-Apple campaign by China's state-run media could have a $13 billion effect on the iPhone maker's sales.

The effects of Chinese media are why companies like Apple have chosen to publicly apologize in an effort to lessen the damage. After Toshiba was accused by state media in 1999 of treating Chinese and American customers differently, the Japanese electronics maker lost its No. 1 spot in Chinese notebook sales.

A more recent attack in China on Yum Brands, which is part of KFC, resulted in a 20 percent hit on year-over-year sales. Yum was accused of having too many antibiotics in its chicken meat, and the company issued an apology in January.

People are making a much bigger deal of it stateside than it actually is. (I had issues with the mapgate apology.... since it revealed some possible strategy implementation deficiencies; but not so much with this one).

Suck it up. Move on. It's the right thing to do, given the law in this situation, the culture, and the importance of the country both as a supplier and as a market. Getting caught up in cheap ego issues is not worth it.

Government thinks it's God, but it's time for the people to return government to minimal interference in our lives. This is what is needed in China -- a revolution to end Communism.

These stories are just ridiculous what people let government get away with. Granted, we have plenty of our own problems in the U.S.!

It appears as if roughly half the people in this country think that they're in mortal danger from their own government. That's a lot of people sensing a lot of malice and threat. I worry that I don't see it. Sure, I see inefficiency and incompetence, but I've always seen that - regardless of which party's in office. And frankly, I've always welcomed it. I don't like my big bureaucracies to be cold, calculating, profit-making enterprises driven by a steely, clear-headed singular vision. A cursory glance through history would indicate that well-organized governments tend to enjoy well-organized parades, followed by well-organized ethnic cleansing. Which is why I celebrate the magnificent, muddle-headed ineptitude of our democracy. As far as I'm concerned, a little confusion and waste may keep the trains from running on time, but it also keeps people like me from getting a one-way ticket in a cattle car. Are our tax dollars being misspent on poorly run social programs? You bet! Do we get more buck for our bang at the local Post Office, Amtrak station, nuclear submarine or methadone clinic? Of course we do! But keep in mind that bureaucrats who can't find their ass with a flashlight and a hand mirror are not likely to find you either. To paraphrase Bobby McGee: "Freedom's just another word for who the hell's in charge here?!" #396

PS: I think Walmart is having a sale on aluminum foil, but use cash and wear a disguise so they don't know what you're up to¡

It appears as if roughly half the people in this country think that they're in mortal danger from their own government. That's a lot of people sensing a lot of malice and threat. I worry that I don't see it. Sure, I see inefficiency and incompetence, but I've always seen that - regardless of which party's in office. And frankly, I've always welcomed it. I don't like my big bureaucracies to be cold, calculating, profit-making enterprises driven by a steely, clear-headed singular vision. A cursory glance through history would indicate that well-organized governments tend to enjoy well-organized parades, followed by well-organized ethnic cleansing. Which is why I celebrate the magnificent, muddle-headed ineptitude of our democracy. As far as I'm concerned, a little confusion and waste may keep the trains from running on time, but it also keeps people like me from getting a one-way ticket in a cattle car. Are our tax dollars being misspent on poorly run social programs? You bet! Do we get more buck for our bang at the local Post Office, Amtrak station, nuclear submarine or methadone clinic? Of course we do! But keep in mind that bureaucrats who can't find their ass with a flashlight and a hand mirror are not likely to find you either. To paraphrase Bobby McGee: "Freedom's just another word for who the hell's in charge here?!" #396

PS: I think Walmart is having a sale on aluminum foil, but use cash and wear a disguise so they don't know what you're up to¡

I don't need to point out I agree with the guy about the "single-focus government" inherent ability to turn into a ethnic-cleansing machine?

yeah, and which Department of Transportation was that? It was the US Department of Transportation.

Sure, American politicians are as big of a-holes as any in the world. But they are constrained in the damage they can do by a constitutional legal system that really does matter.

That's the difference between a country run by laws versus a country run by the whims of a glorified junta.

It's a bit harsh to say that the US is run by the whims of a glorified junta. Sure, the militaro-industrial complex is powerful and has already gotten rid of trouble makers, either in America or foreign countries, and yes, there have been some deranging stories about links between Presidents/Administration members/Senate and big money, but America is doing quite a good job respecting rule of law.

While I sometimes strongly disagree with America's policies, or lack thereof, predatory foreign behavior in the name of Liberty, and behavior towards their own population, it is, in my opinion, one of the countries that does the best job at the attempt to obtain something like a democracy that works. It is a ultimately impossible utopia to have a perfect democracy, with efficient capitalism and no conflict of interest between business and politics, since political families will also yield business leaders, and business will try to sway politics. America does a great job of balancing both.